Corn buttering device



Jul y"7,'1959 SELMER CORN .BUTTERING DEVICE 7 Filed Nov. 29, 1956 INVENTOR.

A L 0/5 5E L M E Q A TTORNL'KE 2,893,032 CORN BU'ITERING DEVICE Alois Selmer, Bronx, N.Y. Application November 29, 1956, Serial No. 625,162 2 Claims. (Cl. 15-131) This invention relates to a corn buttering device and refers more particularly to a self-dispensing buttering device for corn on a cob.

' In my copending application Serial No. 395,029 filed November 30, 1953, now patent No. 2,811,844 I describe a corn buttering device having complementary handles.

Previously, the consumer was confronted with the uneasy task of buttering a cob of corn with a knife. In many instances the butter either fell to the plate or was melted immediately into one location on the cob. Many expedients have been purported to achieve a more satisfactory and convenient manner in which to apply butter uniformly and easily.

It is an object of the present invention therefore to provide a device for buttering corn on the cob with greater adaptability and ease.

Another object is to provide a buttering device that is operably adapted to the use of one hand.

Still another object is the provision of a device that is adapted as a self-dispensing unit.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a device which has a receiver adapted to slide easily along the cob of corn longitudinally.

Still another object is to provide a device which will not soil the fingers during use nor necessitate the employment of a knife or the like.

' Other objects will become apparent during the course of the following specification.

In the attainment of the aforesaid objectives, the inventive concept of the present invention may be realized through the provision of a buttering device that may be adapted to conform to the contour of an ear of corn for buttering longitudinally without necessitating the employment of a knife or other similar auxiliary device.

One form of the device constituting the present invention may be adapted with a swingable arm which has a retaining plate at one end to allow it to be depressed and disposed within a butter receiver merely by flipping the swingable arm forward.

Retraction of the swingable arm may be accomplished by bearing upon a tail end section of the swingable arm with either the thumb or index finger.

The second form of the device of the present invention may be adapted with a pin at its point of contact between the retainer plate and the uppermost portion of the swingable handle.

According to the preferred embodiment of the inventive idea, the buttering device may have a swingable retaining arm that is movable peripherally through an angle of 45 degrees while the receiver is being refilled and which is returned automatically to the butter receiver by merely a twist of the handle.

The buttering device may beconstructed as an integral unit of any suitable rigid material, and may be of such dimensions to conveniently adapt itself to the hand of theuser.

A fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, showing, by way of example, a preferred embodiment of the inventive idea.

K Figure 1 isa side viewshowing one form of thedevice f the present invention.

States Patent 0 Figure 2 is a bottom view showing the device of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side view partly in section showing an improved form of the device of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a side view showing another form of the device of the present invention with the receiver full.

Figure 5 is a side view showing the other form of the device of the present invention with the receiver empty.

Figure 6 is an enlarged perspective view partly in section of the pin-retaining member.

Figure 7 is an enlarged top view partly in section of the receiver and the swingable arm in the disengaged position.

Figure 8 is a side view of another form of the corn buttering device.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawings, refer ence numeral 10 indicates a corn butterer and like reference numerals indicate like parts. As shown in Figure l, the corn butterer 10 has a handle 11 firmly secured in a known manner at one of its ends to a rear wall 18 of the butter receiver 17. The handle 11 and receiver 17 may be formed from any suitable durable alloy and the handle 11 may be cylindrical or rectangular in cross-section.

The handle 11 has a swingable retaining arm 12 pivotally secured by a pin 13. A slot 16 intermediately disposed within the side walls of the handle 11 accommodates the swingable retaining arm 12, as shown in Figure 2.

The butter receiver 17 is of a size and shape to conform to the standard pat of butter. It is integrally formed by means of four side walls 18, 22, 23, 24. Its top and bottom surfaces are open. The bottom surface, as shown in Figure 2, is provided with a plurality of longitudinally spaced rungs 20 to retain the butter within the receiver.

It is apparent that the swingable arm 12 is manually operated and is adapted to be depressed forcibly as desired with the thumb or index finger at the surface 25. The tail end 14 lends itself to the ease with which the arm 12 may be retracted from the receiver 17.

A retainer portion 15 is firmly secured to the rear face wall 21 to the opposite end of the swingable arm 12. The retainer portion 15 conforms to the curvature of the flat flange 19 and is fitted conveniently into the receiver 17 atop of the butter portions placed in the receiver 17.

It is also apparent that the number of longitudinally disposed rungs 20 may depend upon the manufacturers design and choice. Any number up to eight is considered to be appropriate, and they are circular or triangular in shape.

In an improved form of the device of the present invention, the corn butterer 30 as shown in Figure 3 is provided with a swingable arm 34 which has a swingable retainer portion 36. A pin 35 maintains the retainer portion 36 in a swingable position and is pivotally secured to one end 38 of the swingable arm 34.

It is apparent from this construction that the swingable retainer portion 36 will bear upon the butter in the receiver 17 more uniformly and will cause the butter to be distributed more evenly upon the corn. Its diminution in size will also take place at an even rate. A fastening means 37 is pivotally connected to the pin 35 and is secured in a known manner to the rear surface 39 of the swingable retainer portion 36. t

The operation of the swingable arm 34 is performed in the same manner as described for the device shown in Figures 1 and 2 and the arm 34 is pivotally connected in the same fashion by means of a pin 32 within the slot 26 of the handle 31.

According to the third embodiment of the present in-v vention as illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, the corn butterer 40 has a '-pin retaining member 53 which is shown in an enlarged view in Figure -6. Thecylindrically shaped pin retaining member 53 is provided with an orifice that extends through the body of the pin retaining member 53 and accommodates conveniently "the lower portion 51 a'nd the upper portion 45 of the swingable pin 51. The swingable pin 51 has a bottom pin head '5-2 and a top pin head 58 at :its opposite end extremities. The top pin head 58 is reinforced along the top surface 65 bya side portion 66 intermediate the head 58 and swingableretaining arm =42. A swingable retaining arm 42 is integrally torrned with the swingable pin portion 45 and extends in sufiicient length :and direction to dispose itself over a butter receiver 55.

The pin retaining member 53 :has :an integrally formed stop -46 projecting from the top surface 50. The orifice 57 is shaped to accommodate the border edges of the upper portion 45 of the swingable pin 62.

One end of the swingable retaining arm 42 has a re tainer plate portion 43 at one end which is firmly secured in a known manner to the rear face wall 44 thereof.

The bottom pin head 52 limits the vertical movement of the swingable retaining pin 62 upon contact with the pin retaining member 49. in its fully extended position the retainer plate portion is free of obstruction and may freely swing horizontally until the upper portion -=45 engages the stop 46 as shown in Figure 7.

The swingable retaining arm 42 swings freely within an angle of 45 degrees. in the open position of the retainer plate portion =43, as shown in Figure 7, the upper portion 45 frictionally engages the top surface 51) 'of the pin retaining member 49.

The receiver 55 is enclosed by four integrally formed sidewalls 47, '56, that are alse shaped to conform and snugly accommodate a standard pat of butter. -A flat flange 54 circumvents the bottom surfaces of the butter receiver walls 47, 56, and conforms in contour to the concave shaped portion of a cob of com.

A plurality of longitudinal rungs '60 are spaced uniformly across the bottom flange surface 54 to retain the tube of butter displaced therein.

The top surface of the receiver 55 is open to-allow the swingable arm 42 to dispose itself therein atop of the butter cube.

When the butter is entirely consumed the swingable retaining arm 42 gradually rests upon the longitudinal rungs 60 within the receiver, as shown in Figure 5.

I The handle 41 has its open end 48 firmly secured in a known manner to a-rear side wall '47.

It is apparent from this construction that a twist of the handle 41 dislod'ges the swingable retaining arm '42 to an open position of the receiver 55 as shown in Figure. 7. The ease with which its closing operation is enhanced is demonstrated by merely turning the handle 41 to the left whereupon the swingable arm 42 returns to the position directly above the receiver 55 as shown in Figure 4.

Whenever the butter receiver needs to be replenished or more butter is desired within the receiver, the pin head 52 is pushed upward with the thumb or index finger and the swingable arm 42 turned to its open or side position.

It is apparent that this construction and operation enables the user to refill the receiver without dropping the butter already placed within the receiver.

The top surface 65 of the arm 42 provides a suitable means for depressing the retainer plate portion 43 more firmly upon the cob of corn.

It is evident fromthe novel construction of the present invention that the possibility of dropping butter is eliminated. Other advantages enable the user to distribute the butter proportionately over the cob of corn and to -allow the diminution in size of the butter within the receiver to occur uniformly. Replenishing the receiver with butter is accomplished with a minimum amount 'of eif'ort and its maintenance costs are negligible.

It will be understood further that the invention is not limited to the exact disclosure herein described but may lend itself to a variety of expressions within the scope of the appended claims, for example, the corn buttering device may have a swingable arm 70 with an integrally formed protuberance 71, as shown in Figure 8. The swingable arm is pivotally secured in the handle 73 by a screw 72 which may be removed to permit interchangeability among s-Wingable arms '76, 34 and 12 with the various embodiments of the device disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:

1. A com butterer, comprising an elongated handle having a longitudinally positioned slot formed intermediate its ends, a receiver having an open top and bottom and interconnected sides for receiving a pat of butter, one of said sides being firmly connected to one end of said handle, the lower edges of opposed sides being of concave form conforming to the outer surface of an ear of corn, flanges circumscribing said lower concave edges of the receiver and integral therewith, a plurality of rungs carried by and extending across the bottom of said receiver and between said opposed sides close to said concave lower edges for supporting the pat of butter thereon, said slot extending transversely to said rungs, a swingable elongated retaining arm extending substantially in the direction of the handle, a pin extending across said handle and said slot and pivotally connecting said arm intermediate its ends to said handle within said slot, and a retainer plate portion fitting into said receiver between the sides thereof, said arm having a portion extending to one side of said pin and connected to said retainer plate portion, and another finger-engageable end portion extending to the other side of said pin and projecting outside of said slot, whereby said plate portion may be moved into said receiver in engagement with the pat of butter upon said rungs when the finger-engaged end portion of the arm is actuated.

2. A com butterer, comprising an elongated handle having a longitudinally positioned slot formed intermediate its ends, a receiver having an open top and bottom and interconnected sides for receiving a pat of butter, one of said sides being firmly connected to one end of said handle, the lower edges of opposed sides being of concave form conforming to the outer surface of an ear of corn, flanges circumscribing said lower concave edges of the receiver and integral therewith, a plurality of rungs carried by and extending across the bottom of said receiver and between said opposed sides close to said concave lower edges for supporting the pat of butter thereon, said slot extending transversely to said rungs, a swingable elongated retaining arm extending substantially in the direction of the handle and having two end portions and a U-shaped curved portion intermediate the end portions, a pin extending across said handle and said slot and pivotally supporting said curved portion within said slot, a retainer plate portion fitting into said receiver between the sides thereof and carried by one end portion of said arm, the other end portion of said arm being adapted to extend outside of said slot on the same side of the handle on which said plate portion is located, whereby said plate portion may be moved into said receiver in engagement with the pat of butter upon said rungs when said other end portion of the arm is actuated.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 157,183 Newell Feb. 7, 1950 167,769 Johnson Sept. 14, 1875 1,097,465 Pratt May 19, 1914 1,213,655 Keil Jan. 23, 1917 2,478,122 Mossel Aug. 2, 1949 2,527,149 Peterson Oct. 24, 1950 2,691,877 Frohlich Oct. 19, 1954 2,730,878 Incorvaia Jan. 17, 1956 2,756,498 Wasser July 31, 1956 

